After extensive debate on the financial sustainability of the ACA’s “community living assistance services and support” – or CLASS – program, HHS Secretary Sebelius has informed members of Congress that she does “not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time.” By way of background, the CLASS program was included in the ACA as a national voluntary, self-financed program to provide insurance for long-term care services and supports. There have been longstanding concerns, however, that the program would be a financially unsustainable entitlement, since the premiums required to be self-financing could be too high to attract healthy purchasers. The ACA required the Secretary to design an implementation plan for the CLASS program that would be actuarially sound and financially solvent for at least 75 years. On October 14, 2011, the HHS Secretary released its comprehensive analysis of the CLASS program implementation, in which did not identify a benefit plan that the Secretary can certify as both actuarially sound for the next 75 years and consistent with the statutory requirements. Debate continues in Congress on whether or not the statutory provisions implementing the CLASS program should be formally repealed; in spite of the Secretary’s determination that the program is not viable, the White House has announced that it is against repeal and is in favor of making CLASS work.